I don't think anyone comes out of this twitter mess well. Not Lewis, not Jenson and not the F1 press.

Jenson Button can of course follow or not follow who he likes; he is not obligated to follow his team mate on his personal accounts. Maybe he wisely reckons being too friendly with your team mates isn't good anyway. However, he immediately followed Perez on learning he was getting a new team mate, so it looks more like it was personal. As it is, that, plus stirring the pot a few days after the original 'unfollowing' story had died down by correcting Jon Noble on twitter that he hadn't followed his team mate in the first place came across less as putting the facts straight and more "Just so you know, it's not that I don't like him anymore, it's that I didn't like him ever." Not sure that's any better! That, plus Andrew Benson gleefully tweeting Button about how funny it all is and Button winking back and it all seemed kind of spiteful stuff, the sort of thing more associated with the playground than adults.Hamilton's error in thinking Jenson unfollowed him is somewhat understandable. After all, Autosport and the BBC originally thought the same thing and tweeted about it themselves in terms of it being a snub from Button. Maybe he even read about it in the press rather than directly. Still, him getting involved now made him look bad, not just because it adds to the impression that he's someone who acts now and thinks later but because the whole situation is so massively petty that saying anythng just adds to the mess.

He should have just risen above it all. What a storm in a teacup.

Andrew benson thought it was funny he just made jon noble look a fool, he wasn't laughing at the fact jenson didnt actually follow lewis. Nothing spiteful at all the joke was on jon noble not lewis.

I don't think anyone comes out of this twitter mess well. Not Lewis, not Jenson and not the F1 press.

Jenson Button can of course follow or not follow who he likes; he is not obligated to follow his team mate on his personal accounts. Maybe he wisely reckons being too friendly with your team mates isn't good anyway. However, he immediately followed Perez on learning he was getting a new team mate, so it looks more like it was personal. As it is, that, plus stirring the pot a few days after the original 'unfollowing' story had died down by correcting Jon Noble on twitter that he hadn't followed his team mate in the first place came across less as putting the facts straight and more "Just so you know, it's not that I don't like him anymore, it's that I didn't like him ever." Not sure that's any better! That, plus Andrew Benson gleefully tweeting Button about how funny it all is and Button winking back and it all seemed kind of spiteful stuff, the sort of thing more associated with the playground than adults.

Hamilton's error in thinking Jenson unfollowed him is somewhat understandable. After all, Autosport and the BBC originally thought the same thing and tweeted about it themselves in terms of it being a snub from Button. Maybe he even read about it in the press rather than directly. Still, him getting involved now made him look bad, not just because it adds to the impression that he's someone who acts now and thinks later but because the whole situation is so massively petty that saying anythng just adds to the mess.

He should have just risen above it all. What a storm in a teacup.

I dont really get Jenson to be honest. One weekend you will hear him say that Lewis is one of the fastest drivers ever to compete in formula1 but then on another weekend his attitude towards him can be quite dismissive or nonplussed.....i guess my conclusion is that at first he thought of Lewis quite highly both as a driver and as a person but over time the relationship from his side has become a little strained and he just doesn't feel he has anything in common with him.

I think he will care a great deal - I mean - he cared whether or not Jenson followed him on a stupid twitter account!!

It's a balance of cares

Cared enough to tweet, not enough to be too worried about what JB thinks. Hamilton can do it either way - mutual respect or 2007 style.

But in reality the gloves have been off since Turkey 2010 I reckon and Jense taking unfair advantage and lying about it. Canada 2011 for example when Lewis said on the radio "he put me in the wall", then Jense being 'disappointed' over telemetrygate...

So basically he had no idea if JB follows him, but when he heard that JB unfollowed him he instantly used this non-fact to publicly accuse JB of not respecting him? Total drama queen and I'm glad he was bitten in the arse by this, but it I guess it also says a lot about the relationship status at Mclaren.

This

I think what's so facepalmly about his latest gaffe is that Lewis seemingly can't see how his actions effect his public and media perception. Whilst we all want drivers who speak their mind and aren't PR robots, there's a massive difference between this and the 'is it cos I'm black' stuff to Mark Webber calling out Grosjean for his on track behaviour.

For the PR and media perception is everything and Lewis manages to play into his 'spoilt child' persona consistently.

Also, has it not escaped Lewis that if he wants to keep his quickly diminishing championship chances alive, he might need the guy who he feels has slighted him so much thanks to the massive crime of unfollowing him to support him at some stage - not smart if you ask me.

Whilst it's not the end of the world, Lewis needs to stop and think before he tweets his opinions a little more.

I am the world's biggest Hamilton fan, but this made me cringe. Think before you tweet!

Although I think Lewis has a point, however childishly it was expressed. Why doesn't Jenson follow? It is pretty low not to bother following Lewis for 3 years, but immediately follow Perez last week. Seems as if they are as bad as each other in this situation.

erm no

I mean, really, who gives a sh1t?

Well lewis clearly but god knows why, loved Will Buxton's link to family guy.

It's also amusing how some posters seem to think than 12 year old/teenage girls are somehow less mature than their male equivalents...

Why are you presenting it as 'doesn't follow you'? You know perfectly well Lewis thought JB had UNfollowed him in the context of his leaving for Merc. But didn't care enough to check. Now it's 'my bad', and no biggie.

I don't know about this 'childish' 'maturity' kick some people are on. I suppose energy and openness are associated with youth. For me I just find him intensely alive.

Why are you presenting it as 'doesn't follow you'? You know perfectly well Lewis thought JB had UNfollowed him in the context of his leaving for Merc. But didn't care enough to check. Now it's 'my bad', and no biggie.

I don't know about this 'childish' 'maturity' kick some people are on. I suppose energy and openness are associated with youth. For me I just find him intensely alive.

but he does care - and I'm saying that is childish... why care whehter they follow you, unfollow you, who gives a sh!t...well obviously Lewis does.

It's true, but it's kind of childish of Button to not follow Hamilton at all and then immediately follow Perez as soon as he signed. Like if he didn't want to follow F1 people or only his friends that's one thing but not following your teammate of three years then following the new one straight away looks bad. Still, it's more childish of Hamilton to notice and complain about it.

I also think JB is a bit childish here .... but maybe he read some of LH's tweets and decided he didnt need the excitement in his life

so how long can a 27 year old be 10 years old? I am talking about Lewis Hamilton and his stupidity, lack of a brain, lack of every reason and who just don't understand that to get mad because of someone might have unfollowed you on twitter is like...

By saying this you are making the argument that Twitter doesn't matter, and if you take this standpoint then I fail to see how you can turn around and criticise someone for the content of their tweets. Either it doesn't matter or it does. If Twitter doesn't matter then you shouldn't have a problem with Button instantly following Perez after not following Hamilton for three years but nor should you have a problem with Hamilton complaining about it (he complained about the wrong thing but Button's actions are still worthy of complaint if you think Twitter matters). On the other hand, if actions on Twitter do matter you should have a problem with both.

I don't have a Twitter account because I just don't care what my favourite sportspeople do when they aren't performing their chosen discipline. Finding out that Tiger Woods was banging a different woman every night didn't affect my opinion of him as a golfer; a little Twitter bitchfest doesn't affect my opinion of either Hamilton or Button as drivers. As for what it tells us about them as people, I'm amazed so many people care so much. Twitter has an incredible knack of bringing out the worst in people, many of them far more intelligent and mature than Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

I also think JB is a bit childish here .... but maybe he read some of LH's tweets and decided he didnt need the excitement in his life

How is he childish? By not following Lewis? We complain about driver's being PR robots but now they have to follow their teammates, regardless of whether they want to, just to ensure nobody thinks they're being childish?

There's no getting away from it, the only one being childish in this scenario is Lewis.

; a little Twitter bitchfest doesn't affect my opinion of either Hamilton or Button as drivers. As for what it tells us about them as people, I'm amazed so many people care so much. Twitter has an incredible knack of bringing out the worst in people, many of them far more intelligent and mature than Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button.

doesn't affect me as to what I think of them as drivers. (I've not mentioned anything about them as drivers) . I have a twitter - I follow Lewis (Bless) and Jenson. I think it's hilarious that he was so upset about it he had to shout (he used caps) to all his followers

doesn't affect me as to what I think of them as drivers. (I've not mentioned anything about them as drivers) . I have a twitter - I follow Lewis (Bless) and Jenson. I think it's hilarious that he was so upset about it he had to shout (he used caps) to all his followers

I follow both drivers on twitter and I wouldn't have thought anymore about this unless I had read it being discussed on here. I have quite a dry sense of humour so this sort of thing is shrugging shoulders stuff for me.

whether you follow, unfollow or not - has nothing to do with respect - which is my point

You must be out of touch to say that, honestly. There are all kinds of implications when you Unfollow someone. These modern virtual relationships are still real in many ways, especially when you also know the person irl.

You must be out of touch to say that, honestly. There are all kinds of implications when you Unfollow someone. These modern virtual relationships are still real in many ways, especially when you also know the person irl.

I dont really get Jenson to be honest. One weekend you will hear him say that Lewis is one of the fastest drivers ever to compete in formula1 but then on another weekend his attitude towards him can be quite dismissive or nonplussed.....i guess my conclusion is that at first he thought of Lewis quite highly both as a driver and as a person but over time the relationship from his side has become a little strained and he just doesn't feel he has anything in common with him.

Well, for what it's worth I reckon Buttons opinion of Hamilton to be pretty similar to mine. Of course he must recognize Hamiltons speed and talent behind the wheel, only a complete fool wouldn't. But beyond that... oh dear.

doesn't affect me as to what I think of them as drivers. (I've not mentioned anything about them as drivers) . I have a twitter - I follow Lewis (Bless) and Jenson. I think it's hilarious that he was so upset about it he had to shout (he used caps) to all his followers

How is he childish? By not following Lewis? We complain about driver's being PR robots but now they have to follow their teammates, regardless of whether they want to, just to ensure nobody thinks they're being childish?

There's no getting away from it, the only one being childish in this scenario is Lewis.

Hmmmm, I wonder when sniffpetrol will get hold of it...!

From a distance ..... By immediately following SP who is not even his team mate yet despite not following his current team mate who has been following him for a couple of years... that's a clear and willful breach of twitter etiquette

I hope LH uses twitter to the full and then deletes his account ... has some crashes and penalties before the end of the season ... and finally dumps his girlfriend ... and all the childishness out of his system before next season .... he cant bring this crap with him to Merc - it aint gonna work with Mr Brawn

I dont follow Lewis on twitter because his comments are boring, for a while they were gangsta/chav and what he writes is rarely interesting - theres only so many pictures I want to see of him cruising the St Tropez seafront with some american rapper bigging him up all the time.

As for this, for me shows how fragile Lewis is mentally. 2x Twitter meltdowns in the aftermath of a whopping from Jenson. Very telling of Lewis attitude to Jenson IMHO which seems to be one of bitterness. Would love to know whats at the root of it.

As for Mercedes. Good luck to them. Dunno if you can build a team round someone who is fast but dumb.

He thought JB had Unfollowed him, having assumed JB used to follow him. He didn't care enough to check lol. Now he knows JB did not UNfollow him so he's merely 'my bad'. No biggie.

Well clearly he cares or he wouldn't have said anything. The fact that he didn't care enough to check is the problem to begin with. Had he checked, he could have saved himself the embarrassment. I'm starting to feel sorry for him, he's trending and not in a positive way. But, at the end of the day you reap what you sow.